Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill – So Much More Than Beer

Creating an iconic beer can define a brewery, but Belching Beaver didn’t let that happen. While the Peanut Butter Stout from Belching Beaver is truly that, iconic, they have done so much more with their name. The Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill in Vista is proof that beer was only the beginning as the food, wine and ambiance is enough to almost make you forget about the beer, almost.

“Brontosaurus Bone” (Courtesy John Dole Photography)

While the Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill has plenty of amazing bar food, Executive Chef Ramiro Guerra has created a menu that goes well beyond anything you would find on a typical brewery menu. Chef Ramiro did not build his menu around Belching Beaver Beer, but he does take advantage of the many flavors and uses it in a variety of ways. A truly flavorful dish is the Peanut Butter Milk Stout Mole which brings in all of the wide-ranging flavors of a classic mole and then he serves it with a tender duck that is finished off on the grill. When it comes to chicken Chef Ramiro brings the best of both worlds, lean and juicy with a little bit of crispiness. He first does a sous vide to cook it just perfectly juicy and tender, then he throws it in the fryer right before serving it creating that magical combination of almost fried chicken, but much lighter and not greasy. Finally Chef Ramiro came up with the over-the-top “brontosaurus bone”. This monstrous beef rib lives up to the name as it comes out hanging over the edge of the plate and with enough meat to share among friends. The rib is fall of the bone tender after being braised in red wine and it is served with a side of caulimash and whatever fresh vegetables that are found local that morning.

Chef Ramiro loves to take some well-known dishes and put his own twist on them, such as his take on a poutine with his tater tot dam. This dish is simply bar food perfection with a bed of tater tots that are smothered in gravy, cheese curds and braised chuck tender and finally it is all topped off with a fried egg. Good luck putting your fork down once you start eating this dish. The Philly Cheesesteak is made in the classic style but it is taken up a notch with the in-house made beer cheese. With anything that you order, the condiments are a must as the ketchup, mustard and beer cheese are all made in the kitchen using Belching Beaver beer and all are good enough to eat by themselves.

Tater Tot Dam

Incredible food and world-class beer is certainly enough to entice anyone to visit Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill, but they figured why stop there. They brought in Ralph Lizzarga as director of hospitality and decided to take advantage of the fact that he is a Level 1 sommelier. The led Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill to become the only brewery restaurant in the nation to be honored with the coveted 2018 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Wine Room (Courtesy John Dole Photography)

To showcase the over 1,000 bottles of wine, Belching Beaver smartly kept some of the identity of this former bank, turning the vault into a showcase for their selections of wine as well using it as a private dining room. The bar itself was re-purposed from the teller windows to create a lengthy bar with room for all.

It is pretty easy to forget about the beer with so many other options including hand-crafted cocktails, but with 80 beers to choose from you simply can’t forget about that many great selections. You almost have to start off with a Peanut Butter Stout, but don’t limit yourself. If that is one of your favorites there is a long list of other stouts to choose from including the very rich “Charismatic Robot” that comes in at 12.3% ABV. Belching Beaver is so much more than stouts, they have a beer for everyone.

While being home to all of the amazing beer creations that come from Belching Beaver, don’t let the brewery in the name fool you, there is so much more than beer. The Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill offers an amazing experience regardless of what you are looking for. From a family outing, to a beer tasting or very high end celebratory dinner, not only do they have it all but they do it all amazingly well.

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